Blood Bath
by peanutbutter126
Summary: When he opened the door, she was standing there. It wasn’t raining, but she was soaked, and the residue was gathering in a crimson pool at her bare feet. “Come back, Sakura,” he whispered. “Come back to me.”


I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

I know! I've been spewing out oneshots every day and I still haven't gotten a start on Precious People! I've been naughty, I know! But I couldn't resist! Plot bunnies! Please endure!

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_Blood Bath_

When he opened the door, she was standing there. It wasn't raining, but she was soaked, and the residue was gathering in a crimson pool at her bare feet. He opened his mouth, closed it, opened again. She stared with hollow eyes at his face, blinking slowly.

Finally, he just pulled her inside and shut the door behind her. He had been about to sleep; there was no light but for the faint glow of the moon beyond the half-closed curtains. It was dark.

"Where are your shoes?" They were the first words that came to mind. Bad choices, he knew, but he had done this before and he knew that she wasn't really hearing him properly.

"Gone." Her voice was a whisper. He hoped for the sake of his sanity that the blood drenching her clothes and matting her hair was not hers.

"Are you hurt?"

She gave him that empty stare again, as if to ask the meaning of the word. Then she shrugged.

Naruto's lips stretched thinly. He touched her cheek, wiping away the flecks of blood, and rested his palm there. Cold. "You need a bath," he stated.

Shrug.

He hated seeing her like this.

"Come on, Sakura." He took her hand and led her to the bathroom. Bloody footprints marked their path. He left her in the centre of the small room. "Start running the water – I'll go get some clothes for you." It wasn't until he saw her leaning over the bathtub, reaching for the taps, that he trusted himself to leave her alone, even if it was only for a few minutes. They were precious few minutes.

This wasn't the first time. They had taken turns, and somewhere between the messes of pulling the other back into shape, the two ANBU weren't even sure where home was. Sometimes it was Naruto's new house, others Sakura's. It could be a bench in the park, perhaps even the hospital's guest ward. Anywhere. Anywhere they could find comfort.

Naruto had a drawer for Sakura's things. He found a suitable change of clothes, and then went in search for a towel. The sound of running water came from down the corridor.

He knocked on the door. "I'm coming in," he called. Not that he expected her to answer. It was habit. The first times, it had been awkward. Back then, they had been younger, inexperienced. Now, they knew more. They _were_ more, and compared to everything else they'd had to go through to stay that way, seeing the other unclothed was hardly anything.

She was sitting on the edge of the tub, one hand trailing into the water. The water was already pink. More kept gushing out from the tap. There was no steam.

He laid the clothes on a rack and reached his hand into the tub to pull out the plug. The water drained away with a strained sucking moan. Sakura's eyes followed it. Naruto laid his hand over hers, gazed into her eyes, smiled, and then flipped on the hot water tap.

"You'll get sick bathing in cold water, Sakura." The tub began to fill up again. He balanced the water temperature with a mixture of cold water. The two of them watched the water level rise.

Sakura began stepping out of her clothes. Naruto kept his eyes on her face, wished he could see response flickering in those dull emerald orbs.

"Bad mission?" he questioned softly.

She flicked off the taps. "Yes." She extended her arms to him. Gently, he cradled her and lowered her carefully into the tub. "Bad."

"How bad?" He had the sponge, and he gently cleansed her skin. She just sat there, knees pulled up to her chest.

"Got ambushed. Ino…" Sakura gasped softly and hunched over suddenly, curling up. She had snapped out of it, just like that. Naruto watched with sorrowful eyes, because he knew she had entered another stage of pain. "Ino… _Ino_." And she kept repeating the name. Over and over again.

"What happened to Ino?" Naruto was no longer holding the sponge. It had dropped somewhere. He could see it now. Tenderly, he trailed his fingers along the healing scar tissue on Sakura's back. It was a jagged horror, splitting from her right shoulder and trailing down to flick around her left hip. It looked raw and old at the same time. Tsunade would be able to fix it without any difficulties, but Naruto knew he would see it again every time he looked at her exposed skin, smooth and unscarred.

He hated the people who had done this to her.

Sakura was still murmuring her partner's name. It took her a long time to turn her head to stare at him. She started rocking, and he leaned over to wrap his arms around her. She was small and thin and the arch of her back seemed to mould against his touch.

"What happened to Ino?" he asked again.

She opened her mouth, tried to speak. Open. Close. "I… I tried… I couldn't…"

"Sakura…"

"I don't know… I don't know, Naruto!" She buried her face in his chest and threw her arms around his neck. Small, so small. "Th-they just took her off my back and… and they told me to leave…"

"Sakura…"

"She was cold, Naruto. She was all covered in blood and she was pale…"

"Sakura." She stopped, but still shook with silent sobs. "You did what you could. Now leave it to everyone else. Ino will be alright." He stroked her hair, ignoring the way blood was congealing on the usually silky strands. "She's got someone like you, Sakura. You don't need to worry."

"But…"

"Say it with me; Ino is alright."

"Ino…" She pulled away, looked pleadingly into his eyes. "Ino is… alright…?" The uncertainty lingered.

"Yes. I promise."

He hated himself.

She smiled. It didn't quite reach her eyes.

He joined her in the tub, clothes and all, and just held her. She leaned her back against him and he rested his head on her shoulder. Kissed her cheek, heard her chuckle, clung to it as she clung to him.

"Come back, Sakura," he whispered. "Come back to me."

Her hand found his. "I'm sorry. I…"

"I know." And he did know, because she had held him just as many times as he had comforted her. They rarely got missions together. If both of them were broken, who would piece them back together again?

ANBU was a tough life to live. They lived for the sake of tomorrow. They lived so that others couldn't, so that those that could would be safe.

Naruto and Sakura lived because they did not want to take the life of the one they loved.


End file.
